After a few deep breaths here, we move on to the pilates wall unit. Many of the exercises on the wall unit are the same as those on the pilates reformer and chair, but this works the body a little differently.

“Over on the wall unit you’re gonna have to be engaging a little more with your own core, your own abdominal strength to keep you smooth and steady and in control,” says Lynette Wagner, the Mind-Body Coordinator for the Greater Des Moines YMCA. “So you’ll be using more body weight than springs.”

While the Pilates machines are different, Wagner says the goal is the same.

“Long lean muscles, strengthening of the core, balance, you engage everything… We typically use our large motor groups in everything we do. And Pilates is all those small muscle groups, you’re working those deep internal muscles.”

You can feel every muscle as we work the gluts and hamstrings. But there’s no impact, which makes Pilates a good choice for almost everyone.

“We have athletes who train for triathlons that work out and we have patients that come from physical therapy,” says Wagner.

1 Comment

I haven’t used Pilates chairs but I heard that It’s totally fantastic. It has real springs, sturdy and well built. I am already most impressed with the pilates exercises.Pilates is a wholesome workout.